Chinese man gets one-year jail for raping male colleague

Beijing: In what is believed to be the
first case of its kind in China, a court has convicted a man
for raping his male colleague and sentenced him to one year in
jail.

Zhang Hua, 42, a security guard at Haosha Sports
Centre in Beijing was accused of raping 18-year-old Li Jun
(name changed) on May 9 last year in the company`s dormitory,
inflicting minor injuries on Li.

Rape, as defined by China`s criminal law, refers to
forcing a female to engage in sexual intercourse against her
will. Consequently, Zhang`s behaviour could not be legally
classified as rape, the daily said in its report.

The judges who heard the case in a private session "in
consideration of the victim`s privacy" sentenced Zhang for one
year imprisonment for causing injuries to Li.

Zhang deliberately injured another person, resulting
in minor injuries to the victim, which constituted the crime
of intentional injury, the court ruled.

In addition to serving his jail term, Zhang was also
ordered to pay Li 20,000 yuan (USD 3,026) in compensation.

Although Zhang was convicted of intentional injury
rather than rape, he is probably the mainland`s first person
sentenced for sexually assaulting a man, the report said.

"If Zhang had sexually assaulted a woman, he would be
charged with rape and face a jail term of at least three
years," director of the Beijing-based Zhongguangweitian Law
Firm Lu Zheng said.

China University of Political Science and Law
professor Hong Daode said he believed the case touched upon a
flaw in the country`s legal system.

"Legislators hadn`t thought about the possibility that
men could be rape victims or that women can also rape men," he
said.

The law should be changed to include these
possibilities as soon as possible, Hong said.

"The frequency of same-gender sexual assaults has
continued to dramatically increase in recent years," he said.

Ministry of Health HIV/AIDS and homosexuality expert
Zhang Beichuan said: Many countries` laws stipulate that males
can be rape victims, so perpetrators are held criminally
responsible. China`s criminal law should include such
definitions to properly handle such cases in the future."